Carolyn Tomchik received all of her degrees from the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois: a BS in 2005, a MS in 2011 and her PhD in 2016. As a student, she was a member of the Engineering Council, held executive committee positions in the Student Branch of the American Nuclear Society, and performed a number of other student service activities. Carolyn was elected to the Knights of St. Patrick the highest honor for leadership among engineering undergraduate students. She eventually became the Director of this prestigious group. As a graduate student, Caroline won several honors, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fellowship, the U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Engineering/Health Physics Fellowship, and the Carver Fellowship. Carolyn was a shining example of an individual who embraces the highest academic standards while actively working to improve the opportunities of fellow students and the overall standing or the Department, College, and University.

Women featured in our weekly series are part of the 150 for 150 website Celebrating the Accomplishments of Women at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The website was created by the Gender Equity Council and the University Library to highlight women who have made significant achievements during their time at the University either as students, staff, faculty, or alumni.